From the Bride... Matthew and I had been friends for over ten years before we even considered dating. Our friendship strengthened over a few years of planning and hosting a fundraiser for a nonprofit organization based in our hometown, until he finally asked me out on my birthday weekend! Our families have known each other for as long as I can remember and I remember being nervous over how my parents would take the news. Almost immediately, our family and friends were completely supportive our relationship. My mom even said she knew it would happen eventually! Within a year, we became engaged and started to plan our dream wedding.

One thing I love most about Matthew is his love for his family and for mine. Thus, it was only natural to desire to plan a wedding for us all to celebrate together in honor of family. Since we always vacationed in Hawaii, it was only natural to invite our extended families to the North Shore of Oahu at Turtle Bay Resort, a place very dear to our hearts. We planned a three day celebration that included a big welcome luau on the first day, a rehearsal dinner on the second and, of course, the wedding ceremony and reception on the third.

I wanted to have a God and family honoring, classic wedding, but I also really wanted to be able to incorporate super “cool”, unique elements into it all. I instantly knew I wanted to have classic white color palette with lots of greenery to go with our Hawaiian destination. My love for the ocean and Matthew’s love for the snowy mountains led me to choose indigo blue and silver accent colors. I admit, I was so daunted by planning a wedding. The best advice came from my mom, who told me that I had already found the most important detail (a good husband!).

Some of my favorite elements for the wedding were the wedding invitations, our florals and, of course, my dress. I was really looking for unique ways to incorporate my style into the wedding. We were very happy to have LVL Weddings coordinate our wedding as they brought all my scattered ideas and inspirations to a united whole. A good example was with the bridesmaids’ dresses. I really wanted my bridesmaids to find something that flattered and suited them, so I let them decide what to order. I was so amazed at how each girl looked so beautiful individually and how they all looked together.

Our ceremony was held on Kuilima Point at the Turtle Bay Resort on a lawn almost completely surrounded by the ocean. On a perfectly sunny Hawaiian day, and our family and friends were greeted with Honey Lilikoi and Dragonfruit Slushies from Wicked HI Slush. As our guests arrived, they were entertained by a string quartet, Oahu Strings. Passion Roots created an 8' lush semi-circle ground arrangement of lush greenery and white misty to surround us while we recited our vows. The reception tent was so stunning. Passion Roots installed this jaw-dropping greenery chandelier that went across the center. I felt like we were partying in a garden. I loved how everything was so green and lush. I was shocked at how beautiful the napkins and table runners were that LVL hand dyed. I felt that it all elevated the natural beauty of Hawaii and perfectly reflected our style. It was just so amazing to see all these ideas come together on the best day of our lives.

Acts of love and surprise made the wedding so much more beautiful and special for Matthew and me. My grandfather has been a minister for over 50 years. It was so special to have him marry us because he also married all of his children including my mom to my dad. During the ceremony, my brother and Matthew’s cousin performed some of our favorite music. Matthew and I were able to honor our parents with letters and leis during the ceremony. We had the the most amazing steak and lobster from the chef at Turtle Bay. I even got to eat, a lot! Everyone had such a great time while we were able to sneak away to the point with our videographer and photographer. There were so many surprises that I will never forget. There were surprise slideshows and songs. It was so amazing that my dad got Jake Shimabukuro to come do a surprise performance at the wedding. I still can’t believe that happened!

The wedding was so incredibly awesome and I’m happy it was captured by the best photographers and videographers. This was something that I felt was going to be so important and so we hired the best of the best. Brandon and Kristen Kidd and Aaron from Makai Creative took all our worries away by flawlessly capturing every important aspect of the day. I was so thankful with how easy they were to work with and how personable they were. We really want to thank all the professional vendors that made everything possible. Honestly, I felt that everything was perfect.